1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to recording medium reproduction apparatus, and more particularly to a recording medium reproduction apparatus which performs a special reproduction of a recording medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, a method of playing music called scratch, which method employs a record and a record player, has been known. According to this scratch method, for example, in the field of dance music, a player called disc jockey (DJ) controls the rotation of a record rotating on a turntable to play dance music.
An operation according to the scratch method (a scratch operation) is performed as follows. First, the DJ rotates the record in a reverse direction by a few centimeters with a reproducing stylus being placed thereon. Then, the DJ rotates the record in a forward (reproduction) direction and again in the reverse direction. The DJ repeats the above-described scratch operation several times. A sound reproduced by the scratch method is a combination of a sound generated when the reproduction stylus traces a groove of the record in the reverse direction to the reproduction direction, and a short phrase reproduced when the record is rotated in the forward direction thereafter. A rhythm unique to the scratch method is generated by repeating the above-described combination of the sound and the short phrase several times. The rhythm generated by the scratch method is an essential, important element of some dance music.
Conventionally, the DJ performs the scratch method employing an analog record. According to the scratch method, the scratch sound is obtained by continuously rotating the analog record in the forward and reverse directions over a given range at a high or low speed in reproducing music recorded on the analog record. It is strongly desired to generate the same scratch sound also from a recording medium such as a compact disk (CD) storing digital music data.
However, according to a conventional CD reproduction apparatus, it is impossible to generate a scratch sound as in the case of the analog record by continuously rotating a CD in forward and reverse directions over a given range at a high or low speed in reproducing music recorded on the CD, thus preventing a scratch effect from being obtained.
It is a general object of the present invention to provide a recording medium reproduction apparatus in which the above-described disadvantage is eliminated.
A more specific object of the present invention is to provide a recording medium reproduction apparatus which can perform a scratch operation so that a scratch sound conventionally generated by using an analog record can be generated by using a recording medium stored with digital music data.
The above objects of the present invention are achieved by a recording medium reproduction apparatus including: a reproduction instruction unit which inputs instructions on a direction and a rate of a scratch reproduction of a recording medium; a data storage unit which stores data read out from the recording medium, the data being separated by a reference position at which the scratch reproduction is started into first and second halves each having a predetermined time length; and a scratch reproduction system which reads and reproduces the data stored in the data storage unit in accordance with the instructions input by the reproduction instruction unit.
By thus storing the future and past data with respect to the reference position, which data are read out from the recording medium, and by reproducing the stored data based on the input instructions on the direction and rate of the scratch reproduction, the scratch reproduction can be performed by using the recording medium stored with digital music data.